MHEC chief briefs Senate Budget
Subcommittee

Tuition freeze, second year retention efforts among items
before panel

Annapolis, MD (February 5, 2008)

Secretary of Higher Education James E. Lyons, Sr., joined with
assistant secretaries George Reid and Andrea Mansfield February
1, 2008, to brief members of the Senate’s Budget and Taxation
Committee on Health, Education and Human Resources Committee on
the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s Fiscal 2009 Budget
Overview.

Secretary Lyons addressed numerous specific issues raised in the
non-partisan Department of Legislative Services’ Analysis of the
Budget Overview after the MHEC panel presented the panel with a
broader Higher Education Overview.

Secretary Lyons outlined his support of Governor O’Malley’s
commitment to not raise college tuition at the University System
of Maryland and Morgan State during Fiscal Year 2009.

“Tuition freezes over the past two years and efforts to moderate
increases in mandatory fees have made USM institutions and
Morgan State University more affordable for students and more
attractive to Maryland’s citizens,” Secretary Lyons told the
committee.

In FY2006, Maryland’s public institutions were ranked 7th most
expensive in the country. In FY 2008, the second year of the
tuition freeze under Governor O’Malley, Maryland’s public
institutions were ranked 14th in affordability. If the Senate
and House approve Governor O’Malley proposal for FY2009 this
trend will continue substantially, Secretary Lyons said.

Secretary Lyons also addressed efforts to improve second year
retention among higher education institutions as well as ongoing
efforts to continue increasing graduation rates and the State’s
public colleges and universities.

“The Commission monitors the actions and strategies that the
public four-year colleges and universities have taken to improve
their overall retention and graduation rates and to speed time
to degree in its annual performance accountability report to the
Governor and the General Assembly,” Secretary Lyons said.

Secretary Lyons went on to say that most institutions have
learning support networks, early warning systems and safety nets
for “at-risk” student s and “look for ways to connect students
to campus life and academics.”

Additionally, Secretary Lyons told the panel that a
comprehensive remedial education study for Maryland college and
universities “is in order” and will be updated in 2009.

“I was very pleased that the Health, Education and Human
Resources Subcommittee showed great interest and concern in our
report,” Secretary Lyons said after the hearing. “They asked
very formidable and direct questions. I look forward to
continued good back and forth with the sub-committee and the
full committee during the 2008 General Assembly Session.”

Secretary Lyons also pointed out that last year, working with
the General Assembly, Governor O’Malley created the Higher
Education Investment Fund, the first of its kind to dedicate a
revenue stream to higher education. The purpose of the Fund is
to keep tuition affordable for Maryland students and families
and to invest in public higher education and workforce
development.

“Under the newly created Higher Education Investment Fund,
Governor O’Malley was able to freeze tuition for a third
consecutive year, helping Maryland students and families make
the dream of a college degree a reality,” said Secretary Lyons.

In Governor O’Malley’s FY 2009, $54.9 million from the Higher
Education Trust Fund is dedicated to the University System of
Maryland, Morgan State University, and the Maryland Higher
Education Commission:

$16.3 million to freeze tuition at USM institutions and
Morgan State University;

$11.5 million to expand enrollment by 1,529 students at USM
institutions and 90 students at Morgan State University. USM
enrollment projections suggest that by FY 2016,
undergraduate enrollment will increase by 30%, from 98,000
to 127,000 students, and graduate enrollment will increase
by 43%, from 37,000 to 54,000 students.

$1.5 million to narrow the achievement gap between
low-income, first generation students and students of color
compared to college students as a whole; and

$18.5 million for workforce/research/economic
competitiveness to help meet the demand for graduates with
professional degrees in nursing and other health fields,
engineering, science, and math.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission is a 12-member
coordinating board responsible for establishing statewide
policies for Maryland public and independent colleges and
universities and private career schools. It serves as an
advocate for more than 325,000 college students in Maryland, for
the State and its needs, and for business and industry in
Maryland.